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Archive for the ‘Hope’ Category

Changing Seasons

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on October 16, 2009| 1 Comment »

Fall Backyard

Fall officially began a couple of weeks ago, and it is in full swing around here now.  The picture above was taken yesterday in my yard.  I love this time of year.  The leaves are turning and the temperatures become very pleasant – brisk mornings and warm afternoons.  Everything is changing – it’s refreshing.

As I drove home from work yesterday, I was noticing all the fall colors and I began to think about the change of seasons.  In most parts of the world, God created four seasons – four distinct climate changes to keep us on our toes.  I really believe God knew that if things stayed the same day in and day out, that we would become complacent, stagnant and bored.

With the changing of seasons, I think we are reminded of at least two things.  The first is that we should guard ourselves against becoming stagnant and bored.   God created us to be alive – to live life and enjoy it – to make a positive impact on those around us.

The other thing we are reminded of is that regardless of where we find ourselves today, tomorrow is a new day full of opportunities.  Just as the seasons change, so can our situations.  There is a lot of hope found in this fact.

Life should be full of hope!  God intended us to live and to do so with hope.

My challenge to you today is to reflect on areas of your life that may need a little change and then take concrete steps to make those changes for the better.

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Present and Accounted For

Posted in Formation, Hope on October 15, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I read a blog post earlier this week from Glenn Packiam entitled, “Practicing the Wrong Presence.”  (You can link to it here).  In that post, Glenn makes the point that we often say we want to experience God’s presence.  But in reality, God is always present.  You quite possibly have heard me say or read when I have written that we should not think of God’s presence as something that comes and goes.  We don’t “come into the presence of God.”  We should rather think of it as being sensitive to God’s presence.

I love the way Glenn uses the word presence to make this point.  He states that the issue isn’t whether or not God is present with us, but rather whether or not we are present with God.  You see, God will never leave nor forsake us – God is always with us.  The question we need to ask ourselves is “Are we present with God.”

Have you ever been talking to someone and you can tell they are distracted or maybe thinking more about what they are going to say next than actually listening to you.  Doesn’t that drive you crazy (if I have done that to you lately – I apologize!)?  Trying to talk to someone who is not present mentally or emotionally is very frustrating and not very meaningful for either party involved.

Don’t do that to God!

Practice being present to God and to others today – you won’t regret it (and neither will those around you).

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Some Days It Just Doesn’t Happen

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on October 13, 2009| 2 Comments »

Some days it just doesn’t happen – you know?  No matter how hard we try, some days we just never settle enough to hear from God.  It should never be an excuse but I think rather than beat ourselves up, we should realize that God is near and trying to speak to us regardless of our disposition.

From the outset of this ministry, my intention with this blog has been to be completely transparent with my thoughts.  Sometimes that comes out more raw than polished but you will not find anything but honesty here in these posts.  My blog posts, most of the time, flow directly out of my own personal journey and the insight God gives me through that journey.  But today, I went to the file cabinet in my mind and found the files pretty bare.  Pray for me.

But even in this experience, God is teaching me that we are not going to have a deep, inspirational time with God every morning (or whenever you spend time with God).  The real issue becomes faithfulness and consistency.

So know this today, even on the days that your time with God seems dry and lacking fruitfulness, God is there right beside you.  Stay strong – stay faithful.

May the God of all blessings and mercy shower you today with the peace that you can’t understand.

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The Mystery of God

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope on October 5, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Here are a couple of questions to start your week off in the right direction:  “Is your religion big enough for God?  Does your belief system allow for mystery and faith?”

The history of the church is such that mankind has worked very hard to define beliefs and answer life questions.  This is not a bad thing at all.  God gave us brains to process our life experiences and then try and understand them.  But what has happened over time (hundreds of years) is that we have developed a belief system that seems to have an answer for everything.  Man has worked for years to put God in a box.

Is it possible that over time, some very important aspects of our understanding of God and our relation to God have been left out or even worse, maybe things that have no real relevance to our relationship with God have been added to the belief system?

I believe we do a real disservice to ourselves and others when we strive to downplay or even deny the mystery of God.  We can never truly understand God.  At the end of the day we can only hope that we partially understand the parts of God that God has chosen to reveal to us.

For me, my religion is not big enough for God and knowing that, I think, puts things in perspective.  God is full of mystery and it is that mystery that draws me continuously toward God – seeking a relationship with my creator whom I can never fully understand on this side of death.

What about you?  Do you embrace the mystery?  Or does it make you uncomfortable?

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A Code That Opposes

Posted in Church, Formation, Grace, Hope on October 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I have been reading out of Colossians this week while practicing lectio divina (a fancy term for meditative prayer and reading).  Chapter 2 of that book deals with getting at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus – and also points out in the process, what doesn’t lead us to Jesus.

Verses 13 – 15 of chapter 2 talk about the fact that when God saves us, we are freed from the rules that man has put in place (you can read it here).  Verse 14 gives us a very vivid picture of what God thinks of the rules man has set in place to make our way to God.  It says that God canceled those regulations and took that code “that opposed us” and nailed it to the cross along with Jesus.  In other words, all the things man had put into place that were necessary to follow God, to draw near to God – all those things were destroyed.  I don’t know about you but that is a liberating thought for me.

It got me to thinking – what code have we put into place in modern day religion that opposes people?  Or put another way, what hurdles have we placed in our religious systems that make it difficult for people to come to God?

Do we expect people to act a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to talk a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to dress a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to like what we like to come into our churches?

Reading this passage reminds me that the rules we throw up that make it harder for people to come to Jesus are not of God.

How do you make it hard for people to follow Jesus?

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Keep Walking

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on September 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »

A few years ago, our family was planning a trip to New Mexico for a little time away.  I was actually attending some training at a Christian camp and my family was tagging along.  The boys were very young, their ages would have been 6, 4 and 2.  I had built up the trip to the boys – there was going to be lots of fun things to do.  My big push was telling them we would go hiking.

I grew up hiking and climbing and experiencing all the adventure of exploration that comes with it.  So the day came that we were going to climb one of the mountains near the camp – we were finally going hiking.  The boys were excited to start this new adventure.

About 10 minutes into the hike, one of the boys asked, “When are we going to start hiking?”  I thought this was a funny question and quickly replied, “That is what we are doing.”  His reply back to me was very insightful: “This is just walking!”

Oh the wisdom that sometimes comes from a child!  We were just walking.  The hype of hiking and exploring had been reduced to just “walking.”  Needless to say, we did not make it to the top of that mountain that day.  Interest quickly began to fade.  The journey the boys were expecting was not at all what they were experiencing – so they just wanted to turn around and go home.

I was reading Colossians 2:6 today and it reminded me of this little hiking experience.  Paul told the church at Colosse that just as they had received Christ (the instruction and understanding of Jesus) so now they should walk in Him – “you have been taught what it means to follow Jesus – now live it.”

Sometimes the journey we find ourselves on is not at all what we expected – just walk.

Sometimes things come our we that we didn’t expect – just walk.

Sometimes we don’t feel like going on – just walk.

Jesus promises to always be with us no matter what life brings our way – we simply must trust in Him and keep walking!

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Doing the Impossible

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on September 28, 2009| Leave a Comment »

This Sunday night I will be preaching on “Doing Impossible Things.”  In thinking about the sermon, I am reminded of a story from Matthew, you can read it here.

At the end of a long day, the disciples were in a boat headed across the lake (Sea of Galilee).  It was after dark when Peter spotted a figure walking on the water a few yards away.  I can’t imagine why they were shocked – I am sure I would have been more mature (yeah right!).

Once the disciples figured out it was Jesus, Peter, being the bold one called out, “If it is you Jesus, call for me to come out there and join you.”  Jesus said, “Come on in, the water is fine” (or something to that effect).  Peter stepped out of the boat and on to the water.  He was doing fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus.  At that point, he began to sink.

Jesus has a knack for calling us out of our comfort zone and into something unknown – something impossible.  I heard a new song today on the radio. I did not catch the title, but a line in the song hit home, “Impossible is not a word, it is just a reason not to try.”

What impossible thing is Jesus asking you to do today?  Keep your focus on Jesus and trust enough today to get out of the boat.

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Eternity Is A Mighty Long Time

Posted in Community, Hope, Missions, Uncategorized on September 24, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I did a lot of driving yesterday, about 8 hours in the car.  But somewhere between Waco and Levelland I saw a billboard that said, “Eternity is a long time.”  As I drove, I thought a lot about that statement.  Of course, on the surface it is somewhat comical in the sense that, of course it is a long time – eternity means forever.

But I began to the think about the meaning behind the statement – the idea that eternity is forever, so we better make sure we know where we are going to spend it.  I also began to think about the assumption that this statement puts out there.  We tend to think of eternity as a place, or at least period that begins after we die.  Honestly, when you hear the question, “Where are you going to spend eternity?”  what is the first thing you think of?  For me, my mind automatically jumps to where I will go when I die.

But here is something I want to challenge you with:  as Jesus followers, eternity has already begun (in all honesty, eternity has already begun for all others as well).  So maybe we need to think more along the lines that what we are doing today is part of that eternity.

More concretely, think of it this way:  we don’t need to think of a separation between this life and the next – we simply change addresses when we die.  When we choose to follow Jesus and bend our will to his, we have already begun our eternity.  And what we do here and now not only carries with us, it also affects the eternity of others.

So since you are already living in eternity, what are you going to do today to live like you will live forever?

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Cleansing Rain

Posted in Grace, Hope, Motivational on September 22, 2009| Leave a Comment »

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain dripping outside my window.  I just lay there for a while and listened and prayed.  As I listened to the rain I began to think about the cleansing it can bring – all the dust that has collected on things outside is rinsed off leaving things clean and fresh.

I am reminded that we all need that cleansing rain – forgiveness.  We get weighted down with the mess of life, the poor decisions we make and the things we do even though we know we shouldn’t.  But then God sends rain to remind us that there is forgiveness available.

So today, if you feel that you have gone beyond God’s forgiveness, let me assure you – you haven’t.  According to this passage, there is nothing you can do (or anyone else can do for that matter) to cause God to discontinue loving you.

God is there to forgive you.  So whatever it is today that you feel is holding you back or weighting you down, let the cleansing rain of God’s forgiveness wash over you and make you fresh and new.  I can promise you, it is a wonderful experience!

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A Path That Leads to God

Posted in Formation, Hope on September 21, 2009| 4 Comments »

When I was in high school I “surrendered to ministry.”  Now for those of you who are not from the Baptist tradition, that means that I dedicated my life to a career of full-time occupational service to God.  I did not know what that would look like then but I knew that I wanted to follow God’s leadership in my life.  I began to talk to people about discerning “God’s will for my life.”  That became a mystical and very illusive goal for me.  Over the years, that “will” has taken several different forms.  God has used experiences and periods in my life to grow me and prepare me for the next stage.  The key, I have learned, is staying engaged through it all.  It is easy to see our current state as a preparation for the next, (i.e.  I am in college now but when I get out, I am really going to serve God then).  We have to be about serving God in every stage of life.

I am beginning to see that maybe I should be less concerned about discerning God’s will for my life and more concerned about making sure I am on the path that leads to God.  Perhaps the Jesus way is more about a journey or process than an accomplishment.  As long as I am seeking daily to do what I know to do to follow God, then maybe, just maybe, the rest will take care of itself.

Are you on that path?  My prayer for us today is this:

Father, give us a faith that is so much more than a subscription to a belief system or religious tradition – give us a living and breathing faith lived out every day – a path that leads to You.

Amen

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